Methods and systems for voice augmented caller id / ring tone alias

ABSTRACT

A communication device and method can include one or more processors operatively coupled to memory and an audible output device, where the one or more processors receive a call from a calling party that includes a voice or video message associated, presenting the voice message or video message as an alias of or to a ring tone or interleaved with the ring tone before the call from the calling party is answered or rejected. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 14/493,270 filed Sep. 22, 2014 and which claims thepriority benefit of Provisional Patent Application No. 61/880,963entitled “Methods and Systems for Voice Augmented Caller ID/Ring ToneAlias” filed on 22 Sep. 2013, the entire contents of which are allincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIELD

The embodiments herein generally disclose methods and systems for calleridentification in modern communications technologies. Application of theembodiments can apply to all forms mobile and non-mobile forms ofcommunications devices including wearable and body-borne computing. Someembodiments incorporate voice or audio clips in the calleridentification procedure during a call setup of a telephone call.

BACKGROUND

Speech signals include information about the creator of the speech. Itis well researched that humans can identify individuals from theirvoice, suggesting providing the existence of a perceptual representationof voice identity. The spoken word contains information about: who iscalling as well as the emotional state of the speaker; it can signalhappiness, dissatisfaction, urgency, anger, stress, and many moreconditions reflective of the state of mind of the speaker. Additionallygender, age, ethnicity and nationality can also be discovered by one'svoice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The embodiment and the following detailed description of certainembodiments thereof may be understood by reference to the followingfigures:

FIG. 1 depicts a network scenario of party A (the calling party) callingparty B (the called party) and submitting a voice audio clip to beplayed at the B party device during the ringing cycle in accordance withthe embodiments;

FIG. 2 depicts the action and call flow for the illustration in FIG. 1in accordance with the embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In today's telephony communication systems information about who iscalling as well as the emotional state of the speaker as well as gender,age, ethnicity and nationality is not available to the recipient (calledparty) of a phone call during the call setup phase (telephony signalingprotocol terminology), that is during the ringing phase of the arrivingcall before the call is answered.

If a voice or speech or audio clip of the calling party were presentedduring the ringing phase, the called party would be able to potentiallyidentify and recognize a speaker from memory who is calling and obtainan impression of the caller's state of mind or the potential subjectmatter of the upcoming call and therefore be able to make abetter-educated decision whether to answer the call. For example,consider a case whereby the called party is engaged in a businessmeeting and a call arrives from his or her spouse, a few seconds of acalling party's voice could reflect a possible stress situation of thespouse that would require the immediate attention of the called party.Conceivably there are many other situations where the receiving party(recipient or called party) could benefit from hearing a voice sample ofthe calling party without the need to look at or to touch thecommunication device before the call is actually answered.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 in accordance with an embodiment caninitiate a call from Party A to Party B using a calling party's phone ordevice 101 to dial and initiate a call to the called party's device 106.The device 101, for example, can connect to the device 106 via an accesspoint 102 within range of the device 101, a telephony network 103 usinga call server 104, and an access point 105 within range of the device106. The telephony network, access points, and devices can be part of awired system, a wireless system or a combination of both. Theinteraction at the call server 104 in such an example can include: 1)receiving the call initiation as a result of the calling party dialingthe called party's phone number; 2) sending a prompt to the callingparty for a voice input (or other input such as a picture or video ofthe calling party); 3) recording and storing of the voice input (and/orother input); 4) providing call signaling to one or both of the calledparty and calling party; 5) establishing a connection and requestingtransmission of a voice input or audio clip (and/or other input); 6)transmitting the voice input (and/or other input) to the called party'sdevice 106; and 7) playing the voice input (and/or other input) at thecalled party's device as an alias for a ring tone or play the voiceinput (and/or other input) alternately with the ring tone until thecalled party answer's their device (106) or rejects the call.

Furthermore, the calling party could transmit a still photo or video tothe called party instead of or in addition to the voice clip.

Most telephony service providers today offer caller-ID services fortelephone users. These services enable a user to identify the nameand/or the phone number of the caller before choosing to accept thecall. It would be a significant enhancement to the telephonecommunications functionality if the presented caller-ID were eitheraccompanied by a voice audio clip of the caller and played by acoustictransducers at the called party's communication device as an alias forthe ring tone or interleaved with the ringing tone before the calledparty answers the call. Further note, in some embodiments, the message(whether voice or video) can be recorded at the time of the callorigination. In some embodiment, the message (voice or video) can bepre-recorded at some point before the call origination. In yet anotherembodiment, the voice message or video message can be captured andpresented live or virtually live and presented live to the called party.In any event, the voice or video message in some embodiments is“obtained” or retrieved or selected at the time of the call origination.In other words, “obtaining” the voice or video message means that themessage is being currently retrieved from a previous recording, obtainedfrom a current recording, or currently streamed to the called party.

Caller identification is a telephony feature that is widely deployed bytelephony service providers. The call feature server or telephonyswitching system obtains and sends the caller identification (of thecalling party) to the call receiving device (called party) during thecall setup and ringing phase and is subsequently displayed on thecommunication device of the called party. In particular mobile phoneshave the ability and are programmed to receive the caller ID in form ofa protocol message and display the calling name and number during theringing cycle. This is standard behavior for today's generation ofmobile phones or cell phones, which are connected over a Radio AccessNetwork (RAN) or via VoiP protocols. The call server or switching systemdelivers the caller ID information either by encoding the information ina VOiP protocol, or over the RAN protocol. The mobile device uponreceiving the caller ID information includes the data in the callannouncing screen during the ringing cycle.

Some embodiments herein create an opportunity for the calling party toobtain a voice audio clip that is transported over the telephony networkor internet to the called party during the call setup phase and which isreplayed at the called party's device as a stand alone ring tone aliasor interleaved with the ring tone of the incoming call. The microphonebuilt into a phone or other enables the typical capture of the voiceclip.

In another embodiment, the calling party hears an audible ring-back toneand then (experiences) what they perceive as their call being answered,and thus begins to speak. During the initial speaking phase, the callingparty's audio (captured by a microphone at the calling party's device,for example) is actually being played back to the called party deviceeven thought the called party hasn't yet physically answered theirphone. The called party can either choose to answer the phone andengage/continue the conversation, or ignore the calling party's message.If answered, the calling party and optionally the called party wouldreceive an indicator that the live voice conversation is ready to ensueand then the live conversation between the calling party and calledparty would ensue. The indicator that the live voice conversation isready can be a text message, iconic symbol, a light, a tactile alert oran auditory signal indicative of the live message.

In another embodiment, the calling party could hear a message and orunique sound or other form of indicator (as described above includingtext, iconic, light, tactile, auditory, etc.) advising them that thecalled party's phone is playing their audio but that the called partyhasn't accepted the calling party's call.

In another embodiment, the calling party audio clip could be sent to anearphone thus allowing the called party to discreetly audition thecalling party's voice clip.

In another embodiment, the calling party may use this feature to conveya short message to remind, or otherwise covey to the called party anaction that should or shouldn't take place. In one example, a childcould simply verbalize to their parent or other caregiver/friend thatthey are going to a friend's house after school. In this scenario, thecalled party could hear the child's voice and decide if they need totake action or not. In a manner, this service operates as an alert withpersonalized information incorporated into in. The personalizedinformation could be audio, photo, video or text. In other words, thecalling party can modify the ring tone heard by the called party. Thismodification could comprise replaying a voice message played by thecalling party.

In another embodiment, the calling party would hear or otherwise betexted a message confirming that their voice/audio message was played(auditioned) and otherwise that the called party was available and/or onthe called party's device.

In another embodiment, the calling party could utilize speech, voice orother forms of audio to be sent over an email system, which are thenplayed automatically on the recipient's phone.

In another embodiment, the calling party could utilize speech, voice orother forms of audio to be sent over a text system, which are thenplayed automatically on the recipient's phone.

In another embodiment, a photo or video clip that the calling partyposts, is presented during the ringing phase as an alias of the ringtone, and the called party would then be able to potentially identifyand recognize the calling party from the still photo or video clip andtherefore be able to make a better-educated decision whether to answerthe call.

In another embodiment, depending on the characteristics of the callerID, the call can be automatically rejected, or routed to a differentnumber (including answer message associated with this class of callerID). Examples of characteristics that can be analyzed from the voice orvideo message (and/or caller ID if a pre-existing profile or retrievableprofile exists) include: age, nationality, ethnicity, or temperament, ofthe calling party. Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computerprograms encoded on a computer storage medium, are described forcollecting, transporting and replaying a voice audio clip of a callerobtained (retrieved or recorded or streamed to) at the time ofinitiating a telephone call, at the called party's communication deviceinterleaved with the ring tone and in addition to displaying caller-ID.Note, the embodiments herein are distinguishable from retrievingpictures or other data stored in association with a called party'sphonebook or contact book when detecting a caller ID.

In some embodiments, the method can be realized for packet switchingsystems or circuit switching systems or both packet and circuitswitching systems.

In an embodiment and referring to FIG. 2, after the caller or callingparty A dials the called party B at 201 and the system confirms partyB's number as a valid number at step 202, the calling party is promptedduring the call setup phase to submit a brief voice audio clip directedto the called party at step 203. The calling party provides an input(e.g., “Steve, we must talk”) at 204 and the voice audio clip isrecorded and stored by the originating device at step 205. The systemcan invite the called party to the call and the called party can confirmbeing ready at 206. At the point of the call setup procedure, when thecalled party device is instructed to apply ringing (at step 208), a newindication in the ringing message (at step 207) will inform the calledparty device that a voice package is waiting for delivery. The calledparty device then may establish a speech connection (at step 209) withthe calling party device, which is used to transport the voice audioclip to the called party device (at step 210). The receiving device thenmay interrupt the ring tone and play the voice clip as an alias for thering tone at step 211 or alternatively interleave the ringing tone withthe voice content of the transported voice audio clip and play the voicecontent over the devices speaker system (at step 212). At 213, thecalled party is alerted and can optionally answer before a phoneconversation ensues.

In some embodiments, the voice audio clip may be obtained through a2-stage call initiation procedure and stored in computer storage memoryof the switching system or one of its dedicated storage systems. Thisspecifically applies to scenarios where the originating device lacksintelligence or memory for storing a voice audio clip.

In some embodiments, the voice audio clip may be encoded in telephonymessages and protocols and transported to the called device as part ofthe call setup procedure, and be replayed by the receiving device duringthe ringing cycle interleaved with the ringing tone in addition to thecaller ID notification display. The voice audio clip may be replayedeither before or during the ringing cycle.

In an embodiment, a method includes modification of the telephony callsetup protocols comprising:

-   -   a) Notification of the called party that in addition to applying        ringing a voice packet is waiting for retrieval (207).    -   b) Establishing a transport connection for the voice audio clip        (209).    -   c) Establishing a session with the caller of a phone call to        obtain and store the voice audio clip in computer memory (203).

In an embodiment, a method includes identifying a caller associated withan incoming call from an originating telecommunications device anddisplaying the calling number and/or name at the called device.

Methods and systems disclosed herein provide for a telephony protocolexpansion to include the collection, transport, and delivery of acallers voice audio clip to the called party interleaved with the ringtone.

The features of the embodiments, which are believed to be novel, are setforth with particularity in the appended claims. The embodiments maybest be understood by reference to the following description, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

While the specification concludes with the claims defining the featuresof the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that theembodiments may be better understood from a consideration of thefollowing description in conjunction with the drawings figures, in whichlike reference numerals are carried forward.

The terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting butrather to provide an understandable description of the invention.

The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defied as one or more thanone. The term “another”, as used herein, is defined as at least a secondor more. The terms “including” and/or “having” as used herein, aredefined as comprising (i.e. open transition). The term “coupled” or“operatively coupled” as used herein, is defined as connected, althoughnot necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

As described above, FIG. 1 illustrates one exemplary embodiment of thesystem for obtaining, storing, transporting, and replaying audio clipsat the called device of a telephone call. Calling party A dials calledparty B and provides a voice audio clip in a 2-stage call initiation(First: Dialing, Second: Speaking), By design, the illustration in FIG.1 does not necessarily depict photos, videos, or other metadata, butvarious embodiments can include such various inputs indicative of thecaller or calling party attempting to reach the called party.

FIG. 2 provides a flow chart of individual steps that lead to thedelivery of a voice audio clip to party B interleaved with ringing andcaller ID display.

Example embodiments of the present invention are described herein in thecontext of systems, methods and computer program products for obtaining,recording, transporting, and playing back audio clips of a shortduration (e.g. 5 sec). A telephony subscriber in the process of making acall may be prompted to provide a voice audio clip destined for thecalled party (203). The resulting audio clip may be stored either on thecaller's device or in computer memory of a switching system. Telephonyprotocols and signaling technologies are modified to transport (209,210)the voice audio clip to the called party during the call setup phase.Upon receiving the audio clip, the called party may interleave ringingtones and the audio clip content during the ringing cycle (212) of thesystem, and in addition to the display of caller ID information (208).

In one exemplary embodiment, the voice audio clip may be obtained fromthe caller of a telephone call (203). After the caller has input thedestination telephone number and after validation of the number by theswitching systems (202) the caller may be prompted to submit an audioclip intended for the called party (203). The clip may be temporarilystored in local memory of the device or in computer storage memory ofthe switching systems or in a dedicated adjunct server.

In one exemplary embodiment, when the destination device (at the calledparty) or an access system for the destination device is instructed toinitiate a ringing cycle, a new telephony protocol element (message orsignal) may inform the destination device or its access system that anaudio clip is waiting to be delivered to the destination device (207).In response, the destination device or its access system may initiate atransport connection (209) to the calling device or to the system wherethe audio clip is stored and receive the clip over the establishedtransport connection (210). Upon receiving the audio clip thedestination device or its access system may replay the clip repeatedlyas an alias for the ringtone or may replay the clip and interleaved withthe ring tone until the called party answers or rejects the call.

In one exemplary embodiment, the maximum duration for the voice audioclip may be administrable.

Some embodiments can include methods, systems, and apparatus, includingcomputer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for collectingand transporting a voice audio clip of a telephony caller acquired atthe time of initiating a telephone call, and playing the voice audioclip at the called party's communication device before the call isanswered or interleaved with a ringing tone and in addition to caller-IDnotification, including:

-   -   a. Updating telephony signaling and packet protocols for        notification, collection, and transport of telephony caller        originated voice audio clip(s).    -   b. Storing telephony caller originated voice audio clips at the        caller's communication device or at a component of the        connecting switching systems    -   c. Updating telephony operational procedures for the        establishment of a communication session with the originator of        a telephone call to obtain a voice audio clip.    -   d. Updating telephony operational procedures for retrieval and        transport of a caller originated voice audio clip.    -   e. Updating telephony procedures for the replay of a voice audio        clip at the communication device of a called party.    -   f. Modifying the ringing operation at the called party device or        its access system to receive a voice audio clip without a        ringing tone in a repeating cycle until the associated call is        answered or rejected.    -   g. Modifying the ringing operation at the called party device or        its access system to interleave a received voice audio clip with        a ringing tone in a repeating cycle until the associated call is        answered or rejected.

Some embodiments include methods, systems, and apparatus, includingcomputer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for collectingand transporting a voice audio clip of a telephony caller acquired atthe time of initiating a telephone call, and transporting a still photoand or video at the called party's communication device before the callis answered or interleaved with a ringing tone and in addition tocaller-ID notification, comprising:

-   -   a. Updating telephony signaling and packet protocols for        notification, collection, and transport of telephony caller        originated still photo and or video clip.    -   b. Storing telephony caller originated still photo and or video        clips at the caller's communication device or at a component of        the connecting switching systems    -   c. Updating telephony operational procedures for the        establishment of a communication session with the originator of        a telephone call to obtain a still photo and or video.    -   d. Updating telephony operational procedures for retrieval and        transport of a caller originated still photo and or video.    -   e. Updating telephony procedures for the replay of a still photo        and or video at the communication device of a called party.    -   f. Modifying the ringing operation at the called party device or        its access system to receive a still photo and or video without        a ringing tone in a repeating cycle until the associated call is        answered or rejected.    -   g. Modifying the ringing operation at the called party device or        its access system to interleave a received still photo and or        video with a ringing tone in a repeating cycle until the        associated call is answered or rejected.

In some embodiments, methods, systems, or devices can have a maximumduration of the voice audio clip that is administrable. The methods andsystems above can also apply to packet switched or circuit switchedtelephony or both. In some embodiments, permission for which parties areable to update the telephony signaling and packet protocols is givenautomatically by an analysis of the called parties address book. In someembodiments, permission for which parties are able to update thetelephony signaling and packet protocols is given manually the calledparty. In some embodiments depending on the characteristics of thecalling ID, the call can be automatically rejected, or routed to adifferent number (including answer message associated with this class ofcaller ID). Examples of characteristics include: age,nationality/ethnicity, or temperament of the calling party.

In some embodiments a communication device can include an audible outputdevice, a memory having computer instructions, and one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the memory and the audible outputdevice. The execution of the computer instructions can cause the one ormore processors to perform operations including: receiving a call from acalling party that includes caller identification information and avoice or video message associated with the caller identificationinformation; presenting the caller identification information; andpresenting the voice message or video message as an alias to a ring toneor interleaved with the ring tone before the call from the calling partyis answered. In some embodiments, the communication device is a mobilephone. In some embodiments, the communication device is one among alandline phone, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebookcomputer, a tablet computer, or a phablet computer. It can also be asmart phone, a smart watch, an earphone, or a body worn computer orwearable computing device as further defined below.

In some embodiments, the voice or video message is a recorded voice orrecorded video message retrieved or obtained or recorded at the time ofinitiating the call to the called party by the calling party. In someembodiments, the one or more processors presents the voice messageobtained at the time of initiating the call to the called party by thecalling party as the alias for the ring tone presented at the audibleoutput device for the communication device. In some embodiments, the oneor more processors presents the voice message obtained at the time ofinitiating the call to the called party by the calling party interleavedwith the ring tone presented at the audible output device for thecommunication device. In some embodiments, a display coupled to the oneor more processors presents the video message obtained at the time ofinitiating the call to the called party by the calling party as thealias for the ring tone presented at the communication device whenreceiving the call from the calling party. In some embodiments, theaudible output device and a display coupled to the one or moreprocessors presents the video message obtained at the time of initiatingthe call to the called party by the calling party interleaved with thering tone presented at the communication device.

In some embodiments, the communication device further includes a displaycoupled to the one or more processors wherein the video message is aphotograph taken (or retrieved or otherwise obtained) at the time ofinitiating the call to the called party by the calling party which ispresented as the alias for the ring tone at the communication devicewhen receiving the call from the calling party. In some embodiments, thecommunication device further includes a display coupled to the one ormore processors wherein the recorded video message is a photographretrieved or obtained or taken at the time of initiating the call to thecalled party by the calling party which is presented with the ring toneat the communication device in a repeating cycle when receiving the callfrom the calling party until the call is answered or rejected.

In some embodiments, the one or more processors analyze thecharacteristics of the caller identification information and the voicemessage or the video message and routes the message based on theanalysis.

In some embodiments, a method at a communication device can includereceiving a call from a calling party that includes calleridentification information and a voice or video message associated withthe caller identification information; presenting the calleridentification information via a presentation device operatively coupledto the communication device; and presenting via the presentation devicethe voice message or video message as an alias to a ring tone orinterleaved with the ring tone or presented with the ring tone in arepeating cycle until the call from the calling party is answered orrejected. In some embodiments, the presentation device is a speaker, adisplay, or both. In some embodiments, the voice or video message isretrieved or recorded or otherwise obtained at the time of initiatingthe call to the called party by the calling party.

In some embodiments, the method presents the voice message retrieved orrecorded or otherwise obtained at the time of initiating the call to thecalled party by the calling party as the alias for the ring tonepresented at the presentation device for the communication device. Insome embodiments, the method presents a voice message obtained at thetime of initiating the call to the called party by the calling partyinterleaved with the ring tone or presented in the repeating cycle atthe presentation device for the communication device. In someembodiments, the method analyzes the characteristics of the calleridentification information and the voice message or the video messageand routes the message based on the analysis.

In some embodiments, a system for communicating with a communicationdevice that presents a ring tone and caller identification informationincludes a memory having computer instructions and one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the memory. The execution of thecomputer instructions causes the one or more processors to performoperations including originating a call from a calling party to a calledparty that includes caller identification information and a messagehaving a voice message, or video message or photograph associated withthe caller identification information obtained at a time of the callorigination; and transmitting the caller identification information andthe message to the called party for presentation at the communicationdevice of the called party. In some embodiments, the calleridentification information and the message is presented at thecommunication device of the called party as an alias to the ring tone orinterleaved with the ring tone or presented with the ring tone in arepeating cycle until the call from the calling party answers or rejectsthe call. In some embodiments, the system is a telephone communicationsystem for a landline or a mobile phone. In some embodiments, the one ormore processors analyze the characteristics of the caller identificationinformation and the message and routes or rejects the message based onthe analysis.

The system can be housed in any type of Wearable/Body-Borne computing.The system can further represent a single device or family of devicesconfigured in a master-slave, master-master arrangement for example inan smartphone, smart watch or optical head-mounted display connectedphysically, optically or wirelessly to a either anotherWearable/Body-Borne computer or an earpiece that may or may not containa microphone or bone conduction pickup.

Wearable and Body-Borne Computing can include: The field of wearablecomputing, however, extends beyond devices worn only outside the body.“Body-Borne Computing” or “wearable computing” is used as a substitutefor “Wearable Computing” so as to include all manner of technology thatis on or in the body, e.g. implantable devices as well as portabledevices like smartphones.

A term that refers to computer-powered devices or equipment that can beworn by a user, including clothing, watches, glasses, shoes and similaritems. Wearable computing devices can range from providing veryspecific, limited features like heart rate monitoring and pedometercapabilities to advanced “smart” functions and features similar to thosein smartphones, smart watches, optical head-mounted displays andhelmet-mounted displays. These more advanced wearable computing devicescan typically enable the wearer to take and view pictures or video, hearaudio signals, read text messages and emails, respond to voice commands,browse the web and more.

Acoustic transducers can include: acoustic, bone conduction,transdermal, magnetic, optical, Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer(EMAT), Piezoelectric, Magnetostrictive transducers. These transducersin general can either make contact or be used in a non-contactarrangement such as with omnidirectional Transducers or directionaltransducers).

Microphones constitute: An acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensorthat converts sound or vibrations into an optical or electrical signal.Microphones use electromagnetic induction (dynamic microphone),capacitance change (condenser microphone), piezoelectric generation, orlight modulation to produce an electrical voltage signal from mechanicalvibration. Microphones can also include an ear canal microphone, whichis capable of capturing a voice directly from the user ear canal. Theseare often referred to as bone conduction microphones.

Bone conduction is the conduction of sound to the inner ear through thebones of the skull. Bone conduction transmission can be used withindividuals with normal or impaired hearing.

Earphones can include: Earphones, canal phones, and headphones that canbe mono or stereo as well as binaural. In addition, the term applies tohearing aids such as Behind The Ear (BTE devices). Earphones can alsoinclude in Concha, inn Canal or personal sound amplification products orPSAP's (assisted listening devices). An Earphone may also be consideredan electrode array, which is a group of electrodes that collects theimpulses from the stimulator and sends them to different regions of theauditory nerve.

Those with ordinary skill in the art may appreciate that the elements inthe figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and are notnecessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of theelements in the figures may be exaggerated, relative to other elements,in order to improve the understanding of the present invention.

It will be appreciated that the various steps identified and describedabove may be varied, and that the order of steps may be adapted toparticular applications of the techniques disclosed herein. All suchvariations and modifications are intended to fall within the scope ofthis disclosure. As such, the depiction and/or description of an orderfor various steps should not be understood to require a particular orderof execution for those steps, unless required by a particularapplication, or explicitly stated or otherwise clear from the context.

While the invention has been disclosed in connection with the preferredembodiments shown and described in detail, various modifications andimprovements thereon will become readily apparent to those skilled inthe art. Accordingly, the spirit and scope of the present invention isnot to be limited by the foregoing examples, but is to be understood inthe broadest sense allowable by law.

All documents referenced herein are hereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication device, comprising: a audibleoutput device; a memory having computer instructions; and one or moreprocessors operatively coupled to the memory and the audible outputdevice, the execution of the computer instructions causing the one ormore processors to perform operations comprising: receiving signaling ofa call from a calling party that includes a voice or video message;presenting the voice message or video message as an alias of a ring toneor interleaved with the ring tone before the call from the calling partyis answered or rejected by a called party device; and analyzing thecharacteristics of the recorded voice message or the recorded videomessage and routing the message based on the analysis.
 2. Thecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the communication device is amobile phone.
 3. The communication device of claim 1, wherein thecommunication device is one among a landline phone, a desktop computer,a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, or a phabletcomputer.
 4. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the voice orvideo message is recorded at the time of initiating the call to thecalled party by the calling party and currently streamed to the calledparty.
 5. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the one or moreprocessors causes presentation of the voice message recorded at the timeof initiating the call to the called party by the calling party as thealias for the ring tone presented at the audible output device of thecommunication device.
 6. The communication device of claim 1, whereinthe one or more processors causes presentation of the voice messageobtained at the time of initiating the call to the called party by thecalling party interleaved with the ring tone presented at the audibleoutput device of the communication device.
 7. The communication deviceof claim 1, wherein the audible output device and a display coupled tothe one or more processors presents the video message obtained at thetime of initiating the call to the called party by the calling party asthe alias for the ring tone presented at the communication device whenreceiving the call from the calling party.
 8. The communication deviceof claim 1, wherein the audible output device and a display coupled tothe one or more processors presents the video message recorded at thetime of initiating the call to the called party by the calling partyinterleaved with the ring tone presented at the communication device. 9.The communication device of claim 1, further comprising a displaycoupled to the one or more processors wherein the video message is aphotograph taken at the time of initiating the call to the called partyby the calling party which is presented as the alias for the ring toneat the communication device when receiving the call from the callingparty.
 10. The communication device of claim 1, further comprising adisplay coupled to the one or more processors wherein the recorded videomessage is a photograph taken at the time of initiating the call to thecalled party by the calling party which is presented with the ring toneat the communication device in a repeating cycle when receiving the callfrom the calling party until the call is answered or rejected.
 11. Thecommunication device of claim 1, wherein the signaling of the call fromthe calling party includes caller identification information and whereinthe one or more processors execute computer instructions causing the oneor more processors to present the caller identification information. 12.A method at a communication device, comprising: receiving a call from acalling party that includes a voice or video message associated withcaller identification information; presenting via a presentation devicethe voice message or video message as an alias to a ring tone orinterleaved with the ring tone or presented with the ring tone in arepeating cycle until the call from the calling party is answered orrejected; and analyzing characteristics of the recorded voice message orthe recorded video message and routing the message based on theanalysis.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the presentation device isa speaker, a display, or both.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein thevoice or video message is a recorded voice message or a live voicemessage or a recorded video message or a live video message obtained atthe time of initiating the call to the called party by the calling partyand currently streamed to the called party at the communication device.15. The method of claim 12, wherein the method presents the voicemessage obtained at the time of initiating the call to the called partyby the calling party device as the alias for the ring tone presented atthe presentation device for the communication device.
 16. The method ofclaim 12, wherein method presents a recorded voice message recorded atthe time of initiating the call to the called party by the calling partyinterleaved with the ring tone or presented in the repeating cycle atthe presentation device for the communication device.
 17. The method ofclaim 12, wherein the call from the calling party includes calleridentification information and the method further comprises the step ofpresenting the caller identification information via the presentationdevice operatively coupled to the communication device.
 18. A system forcommunicating with a communication device that presents a ring tonealias, comprising: a memory having computer instructions; and one ormore processors operatively coupled to the memory, the execution of thecomputer instructions causing the one or more processors to performoperations comprising: originating a call from a calling party to acalled party that includes a message having a voice message, or videomessage or photograph associated with the caller identificationinformation obtained at a time of the call origination; transmitting themessage to the called party for presentation at the communication deviceof the called party; wherein the recorded message is presented at thecommunication device of the called party as an alias to the ring tone orinterleaved with the ring tone or presented with the ring tone in arepeating cycle until the call from the calling party is answered orrejected; and analyzing the characteristics of the message and routingor rejecting the message based on the analysis.
 19. The system of claim18, wherein the system is a telephone communication system for alandline or a mobile phone.
 20. The system of claim 18, wherein the callincludes caller identification information and wherein the calleridentification information is transmitted and presented to thecommunication device of the called party.